Conquistadors of the Useless: From the Alps to Annapurna

Author Biography

Lionel Terray was one of the greatest mountaineers of his time. A major figure in the French post-war climbing scene, he was at the centre of global mountaineering at a time when Europe was emerging from the shadow of the Second World War and seemed to be at the centre of every major new initiative of his era. Terray was born in Grenoble in 1921. Drawn to the mountains, he was climbing by the age of twelve (against the wishes of his mother, who said 'I shall be happy for you to go into any sport except motor-cycling and climbing') and competing in national skiing competitions by twenty. He would go on to climb with mountaineering legends Gaston Rebuffat, Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal and become involved with major first ascents across the globe. These included the first ascents of Annapurna - the first 8,000-metre peak to be climbed - and Makalu in the Himalaya, and FitzRoy and Huantsan in South America. He also spent time working in Canada and became a major pioneer in North American climbing, making the first ascent of Alaska's Mount Huntington. Closer to home, he made the second ascent of the North Face of the Eiger and was noted for the speed of his climbs, making quick ascents of some of the most notorious routes in the Alps, including the Walker Spur on the Grandes Jorasses, and the north-east face of Piz Badile. Terray died in 1965, in a climbing accident in the Vercors with his Mount Huntington partner Marc Martinetti. He is buried in Chamonix.